#'s about this close to punch him to the stratosphere with what he thinks is going on | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

skellebonez · 3 years

Note

You like soulmate aus? 44 with a soulmate au where there are countdown timers for important events and if you concentrate you can see the lifespan of your romantic and platonic soulmates except immortals. MK realizes he can see Red Son's life countdown and he only has 1 year left

ANON I WANT YOU TO KNOW THIS WAS THE SADDEST PROMPT I HAVE EVER BEEN GIVEN AND I HAD TO TAKE IT OUT OF THE WAIT LIST TO FILL IT ASAP. Just. Damn. You came for my heart and crushed it. @kitkat1003 you helped make this sadder so I wanna make sure you see this.

WARNING: I mean, look at the prompt. It's gonna be a depressing read regardless. Read the tags for a major spoiler if you want to know about the end in advance.

The Lunar New Year special is mentioned in passing but NO SPOILERS.

Why are you still awake?

MK never made it a point to concentrate and look at his soulmate timers unless he really felt he had to, tempting as it may have been. Especially not their life countdown timers. The colors one saw differed from from viewer to viewer, some people even saw only one color in varying shades, and no one knew why the colors were chosen the way they were for each individual. But to MK the timers were a whole swath of colors.

It was easy with Mei, her platonic bond with his allowing him to see the bright green (green for all platonic bonds, not just Mei) countdowns to major events (some bad but usually good, like a major race being announced or taking part in a game tournament spontaneously). The familial blue bond he had with Pigsy and Tang went much the same, as well as Sandy's own platonic bond. He didn't learn that immortal beings had their own color, brilliant gold tinted in whatever the proper bond was until he met Sun Wukong, his gold-green timer slowly changing into a gold-blue bond of family found.

It wasn't until Red Son that MK realized his romantic bonds were a brilliant red (which, in retrospect, could have been seen as funny), shining brilliant and bright and almost blinding him when he caught sight of him properly from far above him (and it nearly made him fall before Wukong forced him to, the traitor). He'd mistaken it for some kind of antagonistic bond before he learned that that was also a type of platonic soulmate. So that was something he shoved deep deep deeeeeep down inside to think about later, especially since a lot of people now a days rarely went after their first romantic soulmate and instead waited for a platonic to change in time.

He never told anyone.

It also wasn't until he tested concentrating on timers with Wukong, for fun and out of sheer curiosity if he really was super immortal, that he realized that immortal's life countdown timer just looked like a mass of rapidly changing numbers screaming in confusion and he decided to never do that again.

Until... the Lunar New Year celebration.

He was curious, scared, and Red Son was there and he let his curiosity get the better of him. He wanted to see if Red was still immortal and if his timer did the same thing.

361 days, 17 hours, 8 minutes, and 42 seconds.

That couldn't have been right.

He tried again.

361 days, 17 hours, 7 minutes, and 30 seconds.

And again.

361 days, 16 hours, 56 minutes, and 45 seconds.

And one last time, after everything was over.

361 days, 12 hours, 1 minute, 29 seconds.

Red Son... had less than a year left to live. Red Son, The Boy Sage Prince, the one who almost defeated Sun Wukong on his journey and eternal thorn in his side... was going to die.

MK hadn't ever really imagined that he could die. He had believed that Red Son was immortal, and maybe he still was. There were ways to kill immortals who weren't all powerful Monkey Kings. But he'd always imagined that, maybe, eventually, they could possibly at least work things out and get to know each other eventually after what happened with WBS.

Now he was plagued with the thought 'what if I'm the one who kills him' and he couldn't handle that so he made up his mind then and there and before Red Son could leave he grabbed him by his jacket collar in front of everyone and changed that thought to 'fuck it' and kissed him and pulled away and looked DBK in the eye and announced "I've known Red is my romantic soulmate since day 1 and I am not wasting anymore time with stupid feuds".

Apparently that was just enough to startle the other man into not attacking and to send Sun Wukong into a frenzy of cackling "I KNEW IT"s.

Red Son turned as red as his jacket on his cheeks and just looked at MK in awe. They had-

361 days, 10 hours, 2 minutes, 16 seconds.

Red hadn't left his parents, not immediately, but the sudden relationship that have been revealed between the successor to the Monkey King and the son of the Demon Bull King had forced everything to a standstill. DBK wanted revenge, PIF wanted her husband to be happy, Sun Wukong wanted to be retired, and all three of them were too stubborn to not insist the two men court each other anyway because tradition dictated that when a romantic soulmate pair revealed their bond no one could force them apart.

352 days, 14 hours, 34 minutes, 18 seconds.

MK felt back constantly checking Red Son's timer, but he didn't want to waste a single second. They had less than a year. He'd seen just how smart and resourceful and, as much as he didn't want to admit it at first, protective and caring for the people he had grown close to he was.

By the end of the month they had moved into Red Son's apartment (he had an apartment?).

322 days, 2 hours, 28 minutes, 50 seconds.

MK learned that Red Son was a fantastic chef, on par with Pigsy even. His food was spicy but over time he learned that MK would suffer through food that was hurting him just to try his food and make it less so. Just for him.

315 days, 2 hours, 45 minutes, 34 seconds.

They kissed for the second time well after they had moved in together. Despite rushing into this they had both been too nervous and flustered to do more than hold hands and sleep side by side in different blankets.

They started sharing a blanket by month 2.

292 days, 8 hours, 1 minute, 12 seconds.

DBK was still pissed at Wukong. No one thought his grudge would ever fully disappear. But he and PIF had stopped attacking. For now. For their son. The best thing they had ever done for him was let him be with his soulmate without fighting.

MK never felt more guilty than when he realized he was never going to tell them. He tried once, after they moved in. After he had truly fallen in love with Red Son. He'd cried too hard to get the words out and PIF had looked torn between telling him to leave and comforting him before she put a shockingly gentle hand on his shoulder.

He could never tell them.

267 days, 18 hours, 59 minutes, 2 seconds.

Red got along amazingly well with Mei and Sandy. The three of them together were a mechanical nightmare for anyone on their bad side and the most amazing team for anyone they made anything for. Red was also the new favorite among Sandy's cats. No one was surprised.

He and Red ended up adopting a little one eyed kitten they found outside Pigsy's Noodles. They named her Bao-Bao. They loved her.

245 days, 7 hours, 29 minutes, 34 seconds.

Naturally nothing was going to be calm for the Monkie Kid. Eventually demons far and wide came to attack either him or the city. The only difference was that, now, he had Red Son by his side.

Every time Red took a hit MK felt no fear. He knew that would not be the hit that killed his soulmate. His soulmate had-

208 days, 19 hours, 78 minutes, 21 seconds.

Red and Tang were fast friends. Red and Mei and Sandy were faster. It had taken longer for Pigsy but he came around fast enough.

Sun Wukong, though. Even after 5 months he was still slightly tense and terse and short with Red. But he had been coming around, slowly. Just like with everyone else, Wukong was hard pressed to open up to anyone who wasn't MK.

They visited Flower Fruit Mountain from time to time, and it was one day when Red had wandered off to enjoy the scenery at MK and Wukong had heard the pained screech of a small monkey in the distance.

When they saw Red calming the little one down, tending to it's wound as best he could, MK saw Wukong properly smile at him for the first time. Soon they had-

157 days, 22 hours, 28 minutes, 59 seconds.

There were still fights. DBK and Sun Wukong didn't get along. But things were better.

There were family game nights. Red and Pigsy and Wukong cooked together. Bao-Bao had grown into a beautiful Tortoise Shell cat (with tortitude included). Everyone promised to try to get along and things were going well. Red Son and MK were truly in love, it seemed. At least MK was. He was certain Red was as well.

That's why MK asked him to marry him that night.

Red said yes.

140 days, 19 hours, 34 minutes, 34 seconds.

Was 7 months too fast? Yes. Did MK care? No. Did anyone object?

Only the demons that showed up to fight. They were taken care of quickly. DBK was not entirely happy about how fast things were but for his only son it seemed he would not allow anything to ruin the day.

He'd changed over the 7 months. Not entirely, not enough for MK to completely forgive him for everything since he had awoken. But seeing him punch a demon into the stratosphere for Red Son was a pretty good marker of how much he was trying.

6 days, 37 hours, 8 minutes, 12 seconds.

Everything was amazing for those few months together. They fought demons. They kissed. They spent time with their family. No longer two families but one family.

Then Macaque came back.

MK had thought he was gone for good, he had been so quiet. But apparently he was planning something the whole time.

Something to kill an immortal.

That was when MK learned he was immortal. And wasn't that ironic?

Macaque had meant to stab him. MK didn't move in time.

Red Son jumped in front of him and there was red.

Macaque wasn't seen again after what MK did to him.

They bandaged the small wound in Red Son's shoulder. They would find a way to fix this. They had to. MK knew what would kill Red Son now, it wasn't that he wasn't immortal it was whatever poison had been meant for him. He knew people had beaten death clocks before.

He had to try.

5 days, 12 hours, 29 minutes, 56 seconds.

5 days, 12 hours, 29 minutes, 55 seconds.

5 days, 12 hours,. 29 minutes, 54 seconds.

That was what MK saw when Red Son coughed up blood for the first time.

4 days, 1 hour, 12 minutes, 13 seconds.

Sun Wukong found out where Macaque had gotten the poison.

There was no cure.

Red coughed more red and MK screamed at the Monkey King to look again. Do something. Anything. Anything...

They didn't see him or DBK for over 2 days.

1 day, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 14 seconds.

1 day, 17 hours, 34 minutes, 13 seconds.

MK watched the countdown timer tick down.

"Why are you still awake?" Red Son had asked him as he held his head in his lap.

"I don't want to miss any more seconds with you," MK answered softly.

"Am I going to... die?" Red Son asked softly.

"Not if Monkey King does what I know he can do," MK answered again. "I know he'll be back soon. I know it. I-"

"MK! MK I'M BACK!" Sun Wukong yelled through the apartment, bursting into their room looking disheveled and like he hadn't stopped moving since he left. But smiling. DBK looked much the same as he came through the door behind him.

"I think we found something!"

1 day, 17 hours, 32 minutes, 2 seconds.

MK prayed that Sun Wukong was right. He was Sun Wukong. He had to be.

1 day, 17 hours, 32 minutes... 3 seconds.

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veridium · 4 years

Text

shot at the night

Good morning and happy Sunday, folks!

Time for a College AU Update to end the suffering of that beautiful cliff-hanger @bitchesofostwick set up for us last week. Hope you enjoy the highs and lows of college soccer!

fic master post // last chapter

One minute they are having a great time, even though it’s freezing and the Beam isn’t helping nearly as much as she hoped it would. The crowd is lively and drenched in school sweaters, beanies, and scarves -- Ellinor being a perfect example. It’s overwhelming. But only one moment pushes her over the edge: seeing a crowd of jerseys around the goal, the same goal Cassandra volleyed around that night after practice. The same one she was laying in front of, back on the grass and leg curled up against her.

An unbearable ringing in her ear. Ellinor’s voice from her standing position next to her. The cheez-its all over them and their feet. The crowd isn’t noisy anymore. She wishes it was.

“...Liv! Liv, hey…” she hears Ellinor as she sits down, shaking Liv’s thigh. She feels her, she hears her say her name, but she can’t follow. She’s consumed in the sight of Cassandra’s face straining with pain: biting her lip, opening and closing her eyes harshly while her chest rises and falls rigidly against her knee.

Olivia’s heart beats faster than she can count, like a hummingbird’s hopped up on a red bull.

Ellinor’s hand switches from her thigh to her shoulder, shaking again. “Liv!”

Olivia shakes her head. “Ellinor…”

“Liv, it’s okay, they’re gonna--”

“What happened? What did they do?”

“I don’t know!” she says, aggravated. She seems distracted, and she probably is. A couple yards away Cullen looks like a Bull preparing to charge at the man in bright blue, and the players are mean-mugging the other team. There’s cursing, and shouting, so loud the stilled crowd can hear them from the bleachers.

“What happened?!” she repeats, as if now she’ll know. As if she saw something Liv didn’t see, even though they were sitting together in the same spot at the same time.

“I think...I think a player did Cassandra dirty,” Maryden offers.

Ellinor stands up again, probably to see it all better. Olivia doesn’t need to. She can’t bear to take her eyes off of Cassandra still on the ground. One of her teammates crouches beside her and is talking to her. But are they saying the right things? What are they saying? Are they being nice to her?

Olivia’s panic heightens. “Someone...s-someone did this on purpose?”

“That player would get a yellow card, I think. It’s a big foul to play aggressively like that, especially with a goalie.”

Ellinor puts her hands on her hips. “Red card, they have to! That was a red card!” She must be reading Cullen’s lips. She is an expert on the subject of his lips, after all.

“What are they saying?!” Olivia asks, hands tugging at the knee-cap rips in her jeans.

“They’re….they...shit, the ref is being an idiot,” Ellinor replies. “He’s arguing with Cullen...fuck, and now Lys is walking over…”

“W-why is he arguing? Isn’t it a fault--”

“A foul…”

“A foul, yes, thank you Maryden,” Olivia tries her best to maintain diplomacy, but it’s falling fast. Before she can think to say anything else, however, the crowd erupts in boos and groans. Their side of the crowd, that is. The players start to disburse from the area, all except for a few of the who remain near Cassandra. A couple guys in navy blue jumpsuits with a medic bag jog over -- what took them so long?

Then, the Knights side of the audience starts booing even louder than before.

“Fuck that! Fuck you, Ref!” Ellinor shouts, hands cupped around her mouth.

Olivia’s ear ringing intensifies as Ellinor sits back down in a huff. “Wait...w-wait, what?” she looks at her.

“The ref is yellow-carding the player.”

“Normal people words, Ellinor!”

“It means they won’t take them off the field! Just a warning. Cullen was right, they’re gonna play like devils.”

Olivia’s brows lift so high they stand to broach the stratosphere. The ref is indeed walking with a small yellow card above his head, whistling so that both sides see. The ringing in her mind turns to Kill Bill sirens. Hearing ‘stern warning,’ it’s yellow-jumpsuit-and-sword time. She slowly turns her head and sees the Warden’s side, where one player is being talked to more than most. It’s someone pretty with a long, brown ponytail and a hairband. Someone whispers something, and they smile. Laugh, even. Their teammate pats them on the shoulder. It’s all congratulations disguised as comfort. No respect, no remorse.

Oh, hell no.

Olivia slides her jacket off of her shoulders. Cold? Fuck cold. She takes out one stud earring. While working on the other, she catches Ellinor’s attention.

“Uh, Liv...what are you--”

“Hold these.” Liv shoves her jewelry in Ellinor’s lap without a damn to give. Ellinor acts like the cheez-its have been spilled all over again.

“Liv, no.”

“Yes.”

“No, don’t--”

“Be right back.”

“No!”

She laces her fingers to crack her knuckles. As if entranced by seeing red, she rises and side-steps to the stairs, pushing past a nice older couple. Her nose and mouth are crinkling, hot air fuming out her nostrils as she races down.

“Liv!” Ellinor screams again.

Feeling like she is being followed -- which she most likely is -- Olivia only hastens. Down the fence aisle, boots hitting the concrete as she nears the opening to the field. Then, hands grab her right arm.

“Olivia Berenice, do not even think--!”

Liv’s mouth arrives before her body does, and she turns toward the Warden’s side of the field. With her free hand she punches against the fence; a loud hissing sound reverberates and further concerns the masses. If they weren’t already, surely what followed would be the cherry on top:

“YOU WANT TO BRING THAT SMILE OVER HERE, YOU SON OF A BITCH? I’LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT! NUMBER 14! YEAH, YOU! HOW ABOUT YOU TAKE THAT TACKY-ASS HAIRBAND AND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT! THAT’S RIGHT! CHOKE YOU RANK, ABHORRENT BASTARD!”

Maryden, with Ellinor’s help -- or someone, Olivia can’t really tell in the moment -- hoist Olivia up over their shoulder. That does nothing to break her focus, especially considering the player has noticed her rancor and is staring worriedly at the bleachers where some bouncy goth blonde is frothing at the mouth. Their teammates see, too, and their faces are even more grim. The sick glee has gone.

While she clamors and nearly knees the person who’s carrying her in the gut several times, she gets one last promise in: “THERE IS NOT A CHAIN OR LOCK OR WALL THAT IS STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP ME FROM SHOVING MY FOOT SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOU’LL BE FLOSSING WITH MY SHOELACES!”

The crowd is nervously observing her when she is returned to their seats. Turns out it was Maryden, the taller of the three, carrying her while Ellinor was reinforcement and likely smiling at everyone to save face.

“AND FUCK YOU, WARDENS!! FUCK YOU AND YOUR GRIMEY ASSES!”

Apparently that is a much more popular sentiment. The crowds start applauding voraciously, as if they’re front row for a Boxing match. They could be, if only her friends wouldn’t be such killjoys and let justice be brought down.

“Liv, contain yourself, dammit!” Ellinor lands next to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her. More shaking.

Growling, Olivia frees herself from her grip, spitting her own hair out of the side of her mouth. “Kindly kiss my ass Ellinor, you’d be melting the fence down to get to her if it was Cullen!”

Ellinor opens her mouth, finger pointed, but she stops. Slouching a bit, she looks away and concedes quietly.

“Still, you could have caused a penalty,” Maryden warns over Ellinor’s shoulder, all cool and collected as if she was just picking daises somewhere, and not man-handling a 5’2” enraged queer girl like a disgruntled shih tzu.

“I hope I do. Maybe then the Ref will recognize one when they see it!”

Unfortunately, in her fury Olivia has lost track of the most important thing -- the most important person -- and she races to catch up. Cassandra is not only standing, but walking. Limping heavily, she has her arm around Cullen. Is that Cullen? Curly blonde, red face...yes, that’s Cullen. The crowd applauds with relief and encouragement.

“See, Liv? She’s up!”

Olivia, far from satisfied: “Yes, that’s just her natural swaggering gait.”

“Well…”

Maryden clears her throat. “Cassandra is very fit and capable. I’m sure she’ll bounce back super fast!”

Olivia scowls, still watching as Cass is escorted off the field. The medic is on her like bees on honey. Meanwhile, she seems more concerned with talking to Cullen, who’s listening intently like he’s being told a litany of life-altering secrets. Perhaps that there’s writing on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Cassandra, though, Cassandra still seems focused. She can barely put any weight on her foot; despite that, it’s as if it hardly matters to her. Maryden is right.

Though her knuckles turn white from clamping on the bench edge, Olivia remembers a lick of sense enough to do as Ellinor wishes. She even feels a bit ashamed, like waking up from a fever dream having made lunatic choices all night long. Ellinor’s mounting agitation provides a distraction.

“Shit…”

Olivia blinks. “What?”

Ellinor watched like a hawk, nose tipped toward the sky. “I think Cullen is working as Captain now.”

Olivia follows her stare and sees the two teams congregating back to their respective formations. Cullen is back to his spot, talking to two other players, pointing and gesturing towards them like he’s calling some shots. Maybe Ellinor is right. It would make sense, with their bromance and Cullen’s experience, that Cassandra would default to him. Olivia glances to the sideline one more time to see that the medics are still tending to Cassandra and her leg, all three looking much calmer.

With a deep breath, she curls her arm around Ellinor, who stops bobbing her anxious leg up and down. “Well then, we’re in good hands.” And so they were.

Continuing to keep calm as best she can, Olivia pays more attention to the game. The Knights, having lost their leader unjustly, are reinvigorated. The replacement goalie looks younger but is ready for business. And Cullen? Cullen goes from Golden Retriever to German Shepherd. For the bulk of the second half the Wardens try time and time again to make it past the Knights’ defense, to no avail. With each advance Ellinor nearly skyrockets into the air watching out for him. When the time outs hit, Cullen is the one talking the team through the huddle, and he does so with considerable fortitude.

It’s getting to be final few minutes in the game -- or so Maryden and Ellinor promise after it goes longer than the promised 90. Time making up for all the penalties, they say. Well, to Olivia it’s just time preventing her from finding out if Cass is okay. During the last 15-20 minutes of the game, she was taken off the field. It looked like the ankle was causing more pain, too much to just be taped up on the bench. But no one can know for sure. It’s a little harder to breathe without her there.

With all this said, the moment the whistles finally sound off, and their half of the crowd leaps to their feet, it’s a good moment. Good because the team deserves it, and even better because Ellinor loses her damn mind.

“AHHH DID YOU SEE HIM! DID YOU SEE HIM THAT LAST TIME? THAT SLIDE TO BLOCK?!” Ellinor yells as she hops up and down. Maryden is dancing with her, which is a God-send, because all Olivia can do is stand up and clap. That, and a sweet, sweet smile that is dual-purpose for showing her teeth as the Wardens slip off the field. To no one’s surprise, the hand-shakes between the two teams is kept brief to avoid further injury.

The team is also going wild on the field, tackling and running around each other like excited kids. One or two get a water bottle sprayed in their face. Laughter, smiles, and joy. When the trophy gets handed off -- yes, a trophy, a real trophy -- Cullen is the rightful receiver. The players hoist him up onto their shoulders, up and down with fists up in the air. He’s smiling modestly but sincerely as he holds the hunk of metal above his head. Ellinor is almost crying as she pulls the collar of her sweater up over her mouth and holds it there.

It kinda aches to watch, knowing how much Cassandra worked to lead them here. However, Olivia notices Cullen gaze down at everyone supporting him. Though she can’t hear what he says, by the shape of his lips he seems to say something like “for Cassandra, guys.”

Then, smiling feels easier to do.

Ellinor takes hold of her hand, pulling her along with Maryden down to the steps. The majority of the audience is doing the same to get down to the grass and join in. “Come on!” she says, “let’s go see them!”

Olivia follows along until they make it to the field, where she can better see the nearby locker rooms. She pulls back, and Ellinor turns. Olivia slows to a halt and eyes the lockers. Without having to utter a word, Ellinor gets the message. A brief respite in her wide smile.

“Liv, she’s going to be okay. Don’t worry!”

“What if she isn’t?”

From across the field, Cullen’s champion voice calls Ellinor’s name. Then, several others repeat it, like she’s the First Lady of Soccer. Ellinor waves a hand at them, as if they’re interrupting some private conference, but Olivia quickly stops her.

“Hey, go! Go see him!” she encourages, “I’m just gonna hang back and see if she can answer my texts.”

Ellinor eyes her, but when the boys call after her a second time, she gives in. She gives Olivia a one-armed hug before running off toward her Knight-in-shining-jersey and his comrades. It’s all rather romantic, what she sees of it. Olivia follows the boundary sideline and keeps her distance; luckily for the Wardens, they decide to clear out rather expediently.

Watching the players and their loved ones congregate, Olivia pulls out her phone. No messages, no calls, no nothing. She wonders if Cassandra would even have phone access, or think of using it. Wouldn’t this be a time to call family, anyways?

She sends along a message just as a shot in the dark:

-- Hey, you okay?

Her eyes light up when the message is almost immediately read, as if Cass had their messages pulled up already. The typing symbol appears. Then, a response:

Cassandra: Was just about to text

Cassandra: Is the game still going?

-- No, the Knights won!

Cassandra doesn’t reply. Olivia’s ear ringing sets off again. She twitches her freezing fingers, teetering on how to act. The boundaries of what is too much and what is too little seem so incoherent. She hadn’t exactly read the part in the new budding romance manual titled “What To Do If Your Girlfriend Falls in Sport Combat.”

-- You need help? I’m out here if you need me.

Cassandra: I’m okay. Medic says I should think about hospital.

-- Really? I can drive you

Cassandra: It’s probably just a sprain, I’ll be fine

-- Do you need a ride? I can give you one! It’s fine!

As she hits send, the grass in front of Olivia becomes vastly overshadowed. Looking up, she sees part of the party has come to her. Cullen, with Ellinor under his arm and the trophy in his free hand, along with several others: Rylen, Lys, Krem and Maryden, and a still more. They’re all looking at her expectantly, and it feels like the field lights all hone on her. A day ago, she would have said they all thought her too bizarre or scary to do this. How things change.

“Hey, Liv,” Cullen says first, face glistening with sweat and likely Powerade, “any news?”

Wait...they all just expect that I know? She scans from right to left. Their previous expressions of raw, unadulterated joy have become sorrier. She folds her arms against herself, phone tucked.

“She says she’s good. They said to go to the hospital, but she disagrees.”

“Fuck yeah, she’s a tank,” Rylen remarked. “That asshole had a red card coming!”

They sound off in groans and growls of agreement. Olivia silently sighs and tucks hair behind her ear.

Cullen frowns. “If she needs to, she should go. She knows we won, right? I should go check on her--”

“Yeah, she--”

“Yeah, I know!”

They all turn on a dime toward the commanding voice behind them. Olivia is the last to see through all their broad figures, but she really doesn’t need to. She knows that voice. What’s harder to take is the sight that comes with it: crutches, right lower leg wrapped in ice and tape, and brow just as sweaty as her team’s are. Still in her uniform but with a down jacket over it.

While they rush over to her, doing everything short of tackling her to the ground, Cullen, Ellinor, and Olivia hang back. Ellinor watches Olivia as she tries her best not to shrivel up and die, mortified with her own over-sentimentality. She gives her a caring look, one of those ‘it’s okay, dude, don’t beat yourself up’ looks.

Cullen has his own matter to settle. Breaking from Ellinor’s hold, he joins the group and faces his friend and roommate who’s everyone’s talking at with exuberance and concern at the same time.

“Hey, Cass,” he says, the trophy in both hands. “Look, I, uh, if anyone deserves this, it’s you.”

He holds it out to her, which is a bit charmingly clumsy considering both Cassandra’s hands are occupied with crutches. Several others murmur in affirmation, things like “yeah, Captain,” “Oh Captain, my Captain!” and “Boss Lady.” A few whistles. Cassandra locks eyes with him and smiles as she straightens up as much as possible. She glances at either side of her before shaking her head.

She gently pushes the trophy gently back towards him. “You brought it home, Cullen. The honor is yours. And all of you! You have made me the proudest Captain this side of the continent.”

The happy mob’s affirmations grow louder. Some claps, even. Cullen chuckles heartily and, unable to help himself, hands off the trophy to Lysette and pulls Cassandra into a hug. She almost loses her crutches, but no matter. Her one capable arm reaching back around Cullen’s shoulders, patting him with as much strength as she can, says the embrace is anything but unwelcome.

Olivia bites back a sigh of relief, one Ellinor notices of course.

“Hey,” she says out the side of her mouth, “you good?”

Olivia slides her phone into her back pocket. Guess I won’t be needing this anymore. “Y-yeah. Yeah, I am.”

“You sure?”

“I just...”

Rylen’s rallying voice cuts through the merriment, just as it all seems concluded. “Hey! If anyone needs a trophy, it’s ‘Livia!”

Olivia freezes as she looks back to the group, who is once again all turning to look at her. Cullen and Cass are the last to, but when they do, Cassandra’s eyes land directly on her.

“Yeah, man,” Krem laughs, “scared the shit out of the offense, you hear that?” he asks Cassandra, who doesn’t so much as sniff in his direction. She’s still staring, hard to read as ever. Suddenly the infamy feels more like an embarrassing tattle-tale, and Olivia can feel her cheeks growing red from something other than Whiskey during a November night. More players chime in with their version of the sordid event:

“Yeah, see that? The--”

“--she had what, three people holding her back? Chr--”

“Yeah, we should have had her on the field to back up Rylen!”

“Shit, no kidding--”

“Hate it if that was what was waiting for me on the side-line”

“--that shoelaces line? Man--”

“Hey, hey, everyone,” Cullen intervenes, hands out and dad voice on full blast. He’s tuned into Olivia’s embarrassment like the nightly news. “Give her a break, okay?”

They all go solemnly silent, which makes it even worse. Olivia’s finally brave enough to lock eyes with Cassandra, who still hasn’t flinched. Dammit, if only she knew how she was taking all this. It’s not like she meant to go back on her WWE ways tonight. Dammit, lowkey, Olivia. We’re supposed to be lowkey. This is not lowkey! This is like the opposite of lowkey! High-key! Mt. Everest Key!

A nudge from Ellinor knocks her out of her mental death spiral enough to realize they’re all expecting her to see what she has to say for herself.

“I, uh…” she says to Cassandra, not daring to move.

A sudden, uneven grin. One could almost say cocky. Regardless, it’s a grin, and it’s on Cassandra’s face as she speaks her first words to her:

“Let this be a lesson, then, everyone: don’t cross my girlfriend.”

Blush? No, not blush. Lava, molten to the core, floods Olivia’s cheeks. Her heart nearly stops dead after so much racing. ‘Oohs’ and ‘aahs’ surround them, not nearly as rambunctious as before, but then someone wolf-whistles. Olivia wants to simultaneously jump her bones and roar about how much she scared the living shit out of her.

She said it. Loud and clear.

“Olivia?” Cassandra then asks, amidst the reactions.

“Uh...u-uh...yeah,” she mutters, taking one last look at Ellinor before coming forward. Step by step, until she’s as close as she can be while still being respectable. Then, a halt.

The others go even quieter. Cassandra smirks a bit. “I have a favor to ask.”

Olivia’s brows lift sincerely. “Yes?”

A pause, wherein Cassandra takes a stiff breath. Her throat catches on something that sounds like pain under good, honest humor.

“Could you please take me to the hospital so that I can get this son-of-a-bitch x-rayed and some ibuprofen?”

She waits until there’s just a hint of doubt in Cassandra’s face. So much so the “audience” of sorts shuts up again to hang on her word. When it’s just the right moment, she comes even closer.

“...get in my car, Pentaghast,” she commands, slipping her keys out of her coat pocket and twirling them around on her finger.

As if the moment wasn’t momentous enough, either the adrenaline or savvy romance of it proves inspiring. Cassandra smiles even wider, reaching just enough to snag the edge of Olivia’s coat and pull her in. In return, Olivia takes hold of the neck of her jersey, just enough for the drama without pulling her off her already-precarious balance. It’s the fourth time they ever share a kiss on a soccer field.

Everyone erupts in laughter, more clapping, and whistling. Olivia and Cassandra end their kiss in order for a proper congratulatory hug.

Rylen, again, proves the most dedicated to capping off the moment: “I told you, Krem! Pay up!”

“I didn’t bet no, dude!”

“Yeah but you bet maybe! $5 or three fireball shots at the afterparty!”

From farther away, Ellinor’s voice squeaks with a bit of shivering: “Did you say ‘fireball’?”

#day & age #college AU #ellinor trevelyan #olivia sinclair #college!Olivia #modern!olivia #THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF COLLEGE INTRAMURAL SOCCER

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ravenoftheskyes · 5 years

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Mako-fam (a pq2 fanfic)

{Made another commitment to @thieves-in-the-palace so let’s go! (It’ll be a short fic I said, I’ll only hint at my ships I said. I might actually write a sequel to this focused on 20XX) Rated T, for strong language, “slight” (Ha, this thing is flooded with ship content) Okijuma, Yukichie, Souyo, Pegoryu, Annshiho, Yukamitsu, Junpei x Chidori and Akimina[just gonna shove a bunch of ships in here. I actually hit the tag limit.] and spoilers for Ticket 32}

Makoto Niijima, a girl with three families. One, the Phantom Thieves. Two, the Investigation Team. Three, SEES. Though she didn’t exactly know about the persona part. Until now.

They’ve just rescued the IT from Junessic land. Except for Yosuke. But they’ll have to find him later.

“Goro, can I speak to you for a second?” Makoto asks the brown-haired boy next to her.

“Yeah sure, in the theater?”

“Of course”

They walk over to the Kamoshidaman theater and plop down into the seats.

“FUCK, GORO! AUNT CHIE AND AUNT NAO HAVE PERSONAS?!”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”

They screamed for about another five minutes before they calmed down.

“Okay so, we just have to act normal. We can deal with this. It’s just Aunt Chie and Aunt Nao.”

“Yeah, I mean what are the odds that Uncle Aki has one too?”

*A.I.G.I.S*

“Goro, can I talk to you? Please?!” Makoto almost yells out, letting the slightest amount of panic into her voice.

“Yeah... sure...”

As they walk back into the Kamoshidaman theater, Goro‘s eyes start to widen. He’s finally comprehending.

“UNCLE AKI HAS A PERSONA?!”

“FUCK, MAKOTO I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!”

“YOU THINK I CAN?!”

Another five (20) minutes of screaming later...

“Okay, so our entire family has personas. We can deal with this.”

“Makoto. Uncle Aki just used an honorific on you. He never does that. It’s always either Mako-chan or Makoto. Same thing with Aunt Nao and Aunt Chie. And the rest of the family.”

“...I still remember how proud Aunt Nao was when they started calling you “the second coming of the detective prince”. She literally screamed out “THAT’S OUR BOY” when you were on tv. She was so happy.”

“Ha, remember when on your 15th birthday Uncle Aki and Aunt Chie gave you brass knuckles? Sae was so pissed”

“And then they got me Steel-toed boots and taught me how to do a roundhouse kick!”

“Do you still have those?”

“I never go anywhere without them.” And she pulls the brass knuckles from her bag.

“We’ve just got to bite back a few nicknames, and we’ll be fine.” Makoto whispers.

“Yeah.” Goro says back to her, with a small smile.

*ticket 32*

Makoto’s talking to Haru.

“Mako-chan, you’ve got to be a little less reckless! I don’t have my grenade launcher here to protect you!”

“I know, Haru. It’s just that I can’t help it when I see someone hurt my family.”

“Hmm...” Haru says, with a contemplative look on her face. Makoto wonders how she got this lucky to have this beautiful and sweet of a girlfriend.

“I guess I have Ren to thank for that” she thinks

And then Elizabeth talks about a new special screening.

“Maybe this is our chance?” Akihiko says to Chie.

Oh god oh no oh fuck- Makoto thinks

“Huh?” Chie replies to him

“Remember what Makoto said?”

And suddenly, Makoto’s having a flashback.

“Makoto, learning close-combat battle’s all well and good, but you need to learn a proper diet. Don’t eat meat 24/7 like they do” Naoto says to a younger Makoto.

“Aw, come on Naoto! Steak’s delicious!” Chie fires back.

Makoto smiled, a rare occurrence since the death of her father.

“Hey, look! She’s smiling!” Akihiko said to the other two.

“Aww, you’re so adorable, Makoto!” Chie said to her.

“I’m 13! Not three!”

Akihiko laughed, and said “I think she’s been hanging out with Ken too much.”

“Now come on! Show me a kick that could punt someone into the stratosphere!”

“Chie-!”

“Watch me go, Coach!” Chie says, and Makoto’s violently thrown back into the present.

“Heh! My fists have been aching for some action. Time for a one-two punch into the finishing blow!”

“*sigh* Whatever you say. Let’s just get going for now.”

As they’re walking, Yukiko walks up to Chie.

“Chie, you’re starting to scare her. Calm down a bit. I mean, you barely know her and you’re calling her Coach!”

“I’m sure she’s fine!”

“...I still can’t believe you’re my Prince Charming.”

“Ha! No take-backs, Yukiko! You’re my princess and I’m your Prince!”

And then Yukiko falls into a laughing fit.

And right behind them, Goro and Makoto are having a panic attack conversation

“I can’t believe they’re asking you to train them. They taught you everything you know!” Goro says, shocked.

“I know!”

“...Don’t you already know their weaknesses?”

“Yeah, Aunt Chie moves just slow enough to sweep her stable leg out and if Uncle Aki gets riled up enough he exposes his stomach.”

“Then fight them!”

“That’s not actually a bad idea...”

“There it is! Let’s get in there and land the first strike!” Akihiko yells.

Goro rolls his eyes and says “There he is. I was wondering when he was gonna go battle crazy.”

“Roger that, I’m ready to learn from the best!”

“And there she goes...” Makoto whispers

“...Wait, there’s no road!?” Chie screamed

“Whoa!”

Goro was barely able to restrain his laughter

“Calm down, you two. First, we need to assess the situation. See the enemy’s orientation. Gauge it’s speed, movements, and position. Observe, then predict its actions.”

This time it was Goro’s flashback.

“Come on, Goro. You need to observe. Predict their actions.” Naoto whispered.

“She’s right. Now, come at me!” Akihiko told him.

“Wait!” Minato walked in. “Use this!” And he handed him a wooden rapier.

Goro’s eyes glittered. “It’s just like the ones heroes from those movies use!”

“Très Magnefique!” Mitsuru exclamimed. “A one-handed sword!”

“Babe, Mitzi, come on. You know that the best weapon is a pair of fists.”

“You’ve got Makoto, let us have him!” Minato said to him.

“Come on, Lances are the best weapon to use!” Minako said, as she walked in.

Everyone in the room shot her down.

“You have Ken!” Chie said.

“What about me?” Ken said as he walked in.

“Nothing, we’re just arguing about weapons again.” Minato said to him, with a small smirk on his face.

“Nothing beats a Katana!” Yu said as he walked in.

Yukiko said, “You’re all wrong! Fans are easy to hide, and they can pack a punch!”

“Yukiko. My princess. I love you, but you’re wrong.”

The squabbles between them brought a sweet smile to Goro’s face. He had a family.

“Okay, come on! This is how you use a sword!” Minato said, and Minato and Mitsuru did a demonstration on sabers and swords.

“Let’s go, Chie! I’ll race you!” Akihiko said to the brown-haired girl, just as Goro’s flashback ended.

Makoto backed up to join Goro.

“Think we should join them?” She asked

“Of course we should, Queen.”

And they both bolted off to join them.

*after the ticket*

“So, a special diet, huh? You know they’re gonna cave. Aunt Nao’s been trying and failing for years.” Goro whispered to her.

“I know, but I might as well give it a shot, huh?”

Meanwhile, in the background, Minato and Yukiko are chatting.

“God, why is she so similar to both of them? They never told us what year they were from... Do you think that maybe they left us for each other or something and had her?” Yukiko said to him.

“No... that’s crazy. At least I hope not.” Minato replied to her.

“I mean, if they’d be happier with each other, then I’d accept it. Because I love her too much to not see her happy.”

“Yeah, same.”

“Ugh, I’m weirdly jealous. I mean, it might not even be true.”

“Yeah...”

And a few more battles in ??? later...

“Ugh!” Yosuke said, as he collapsed in a heap.

“Partner!” Yu said, as he took out the shadow and bolted to Yosuke’s side. “Yosuke, are you alright?!” His voice going a few octaves higher than it normally would.

Makoto gets another flashback.

“Partner?” Yu asks a half-asleep Yosuke, as they watch a movie. “Come on, we’re with Makoto and Goro. Weren’t you the one who wanted to watch this movie?”

Yosuke plants a sloppy kiss on Yu’s cheek

“Yeah, but I’m tired. I mostly wanted an excuse to spend time with you.”

Yu had the tiniest hint of a blush on his face.

Makoto and Goro stopped watching the movie in favor of watching the romcom taking place right next to them on the couch.

“P-partner please there are children watching”

“Aw, getting flustered already?”

“Mako-chan! Behind you!” Haru screeched out

Makoto dodged it and kicked it in the face to kill it.

“Thanks, babe!” She yelled to her as she got back onto her feet.

Akihiko walked up to her, and asked “Are you alright?”

“Yeah thanks u- Akihiko-san”

Phew, that was close she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, back to the salty s/os...

“She cut herself off. She was going to call him something different. It seems more and more likely that Akihiko’s her dad.” Yukiko muttered.

“Earlier, I think she did the same thing to Chie.” Minato whispered back.

“I’m so fucking jealous”

“God, same”

“Ooh, my brother’s jealous, huh?” Minako said, as she popped in.

“Minako-!” He said back to her.

*back in the theater*

Hikari clapped her hands as she welcomed them back.

“Yeah! No sweat! Eff those shadows!” Ryuji said as he threw his fist into the air.

“I still don’t understand why you can’t just say fuck, like the rest of us.” Chie said to him.

“Well, you see...” Ren started. “My boyfriend here is a total momma’s boy. We love him for it. His mom told him to never say fuck, so he doesn’t. He loves his mom. And so do we. She’s basically all our mom now.”

“Yeah, I still remember the look of horror on her face when I said it around her!” Ann said to everyone else.

Ren planted a soft kiss on Ryuji’s cheek.

“Ugh, why is everyone so affectionate here?! I miss my sweet Chidorita...” Junpei exclaimed.

“Oh yeah, same. I miss Shiho so much. I should take her out for crepes when we get home.” Ann said.

And then

“Whoa, the room just got a bit colder...”

“I can feel it. Someone’s salty.”

“It’s coming from... over there!” And Junpei points to an obviously pissed off Yukiko and a Wildcard Mode Minato.

“Okay, what are you two so salty about?” Ann asks them.

And then Minato does his catchphrase. “I don’t care”

“Aw, are your s/os not paying enough attention to you two?” Ren teases.

Minato’s hand slightly curled and the other three protags show their shock.

“Guys! What has you all going insane?!” Ann screams out.

“That thing Minato did with his hand? That’s the wildcard equivalent of ‘I’m gonna cut a bitch’” Ren explains.

“...That little hand thing?”

“Yeah!!”

“Okay, but that still leaves the question, why?”

“That, I don’t know.”

“I’m just going to say it!” Yukiko says, with barely restrained anger

“Makoto, what were your parents names?” She asks.

“Wait! Hold the fuck up! If you’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, you’re wrong! I’m Ken’s age! I’m not the child of anyone here!” Makoto screams out in a single breath.

“Oh. Well now I just feel like an idiot.” Yukiko says.

Minato rubs the back of his neck with his hand and blushes just the tiniest bit.

And Makoto gets another flashback.

“Hey! Uncle Mina! Didn’t you say that Aunt Mitzi and Uncle Aki were teaching you french? Could you help me with my homework?” Makoto asks.

“I’m... not very good, but alright.”

“It’s just a reading assignment. We’ll be fine.”

Goro gives a small smirk from where he’s sitting on the dorm couch.

“What is it supposed to be?” Minato asks the girl.

“I don’t know, just read it!” She yells out.

“Okay, okay!” He chuckles as he starts translating it

“My love, your hair is as soft as a flower’s petals, yet your heart is thorned. Never to let anyone too close. I’m glad that you let me and everyone else into your heart. I never thought I had an eye for beauty, until I saw your face. I’ve traveled the world, and yet I’ve always wanted to come home to you. You’re a warrior. And I’d like to fight by your side until the end. So, will you be by my side forever? Love-” Minato choked on the last word. He dropped the letter and slammed his hands over his mouth. He turned around, not quite trusting his voice. There, Akihiko Sanada sat, blushing so hard that it seemed he might pass out. Minato thought a nod yes would suffice. It did. The entire dorm went up in cheers and everyone was excited for the newly engaged couple.

Makoto loved that memory. She always thought it was romantic, the way he proposed.

So when she saw them on the couch, Minato asleep on his boyfriend’s shoulder, she was happy knowing that a couple who fights together, stays together.

But there’s something more important to do, soon. After Minato wakes up.

After he does wake up, Makoto finally challenges Akihiko and Chie to a fight.

“A fight?” Chie asks her

“Well, a training bout.” Makoto says. “Both of you, against me.”

“If you insist.” Akihiko says, and he throws a punch that Makoto dodges easily.

“Too easy! Give me a challenge at least!”

Chie throws out a kick. Another dodge. And Makoto takes out her leg from under her.

“Huh!” Chie screams, as she collapses into a heap.

“Chie!” Yukiko screams from the back.

“That’s one down!” Ren screams from the back.

Another punch. Makoto pirouettes out of the way.

“That all you can do?!” She taunts him

Akihiko’s temper gets the better of him. Makoto smirks. He leaves his stomach exposed for a split second. Makoto throws as much force as she can behind a punch directly to his gut

Makoto shakes out her hand, as Akihiko goes crumbling to the floor.

“Damn. I’m impressed.” Mitsuru says from the back. “Are the two of you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine” Chie tells the redhead.

“Same here.” Akihiko says as he brings himself to his feet.

And then their eyes start sparkling. Makoto’s bombarded with questions.

Makoto and Goro have the same flashback at the same time.

“Alright, is everyone ready?” Minako asks the kids, who are holding wooden weapons. She kicks off a training match between Goro, Makoto, and Ken.

(Everyone knows Ken’s going to win, but it’s good experience for the others.)

Unfortunately, Ken forgets that this is a training match. He puts too much force behind his hits and accidentally knocks Makoto’s arm so hard that he dislocates her shoulder.

“Ow, damn!” She mutters out, not wanting to seem weak.

“Sorry, sorry!” Ken yells as he throws the wooden lance to the side and runs over to her.

Yukari runs over to her side and starts to examine it. She sighs in relief. “It’s okay, we just need to pop it back in.”

The entire dorm sighs in relief.

Yukiko plops down on Makoto’s other side, and grabs her hand.

“Look at me, alright?” She tells the girl.

Yukari pops here shoulder back in, which gives her pain for a split-second, until a cool, soothing sensation permeates her body

Looking back on it now, Yukari had probably used diarahan on her.

“-oach? Coach? Coach!” Chie’s voice snapped her back to the present.

“I’m sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?” She asked the brown-haired girl.

“Makoto, are you feeling alright? You seem a bit out of it.” Akihiko asked her.

“I’m fine” she says. She’s a liar.

*another run in ??? later*

“Makoto-san, I’ve been wondering. How did you learn to be so good at riding a motorcycle?” Mitsuru asks her.

You taught me! She thinks

“Johanna taught me. She is a part of me after all!” Makoto quickly says, trying to act casual.

It seems to satisfy the red-headed executioner, as she walks away.

Flashback time~

“Mitsuru, I swear to god if you take her out on your motorcycle-” Akihiko starts

“She’ll be fine! We’ll be with her!” Yukari replies

“That’s what I’m worried about! Mitsuru, you once used a pileup as a ramp, and Yukari, you once took a sharp turn on an icy road so fast that we almost skid into another car!”

“Just because you can’t handle the way I drive-” Mitsuru starts

“You once told me ‘I paid for the whole speedometer, I’m using the whole speedometer!’”

“Exactly!” Yukari replied to him.

“...I’m not going to talk you out of this, now am I?”

“Not even close!” They both replied, in unison.

“You two are perfect for each other... just don’t get yourselves killed.”

And that was the day that Makoto learned how to ride a motorcycle like a maniac, with a crash course from Mitsuru and Yukari.

Makoto literally drives herself off a tree.

“Mafreidyne!” She screams, and takes out the shadows.

She returns her mask and walks with the rest of the group.

Surrounded by all three of her families, she thought that this alternate dimension thing might not be so bad after all.

55 notes · View notes

recentanimenews · 5 years

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Ranking Luffy's 20 Best Knockouts For The One Piece Anime's 20th Anniversary

We love One Piece because of its themes - the idea that, because the ocean is so vast, you'll one day find a place where you belong. That even though others may tear you down or forget about you, your dreams will never die. That it's your duty to stand up for your friends, because you know they'd stand up for you. Those are all beautiful and well developed motifs in the One Piece world. But you know what else is beautiful and well developed in the One Piece world? Luffy's ability to knock someone out.

Thanks to Luffy's grit and Gum Gum powers, we've been treated to some of the best KO's in anime history in One Piece. And I think, since the 20th anniversary of the anime is October 20th, 2019, we should celebrate twenty of them here. And I think, in the first spot, we should have...

20. Don Krieg

I'm gonna start with this one because it always felt like Luffy, using Gum Gum Gatling, and then Gum Gum Pistol, and then 2 Gum Gum Bazookas, and finally finishing off Krieg with Gum Gum Giant Gavel, was executing a combo move. Like if he'd accidentally pressed X instead of B at the end there, he would've gone for another Gum Gum Pistol and lost the quick time event.

19. Charlotte Cadenza

This one earns a spot on the list because of the desperation of it. We don't usually see Luffy go all MMA on someone, but in trying to make his way back to meet Sanji, he chokes out one of the big quintuplets. That's raw, and I hope that, when Luffy finally faces down Blackbeard again, he busts out a Rear Naked Choke on him or at least a Kimura Armlock.

18. Holdem

This obviously isn't the first Red Hawk that Luffy's ever used (Other notable uses include his fight against Byrnndi World in the 3D2Y special, against Hody Jones, and in that awesome tag team attack with Law against Doflamingo.) But with work by key animator Takashi Kojima, his Red Hawk against Holdem is especially beautiful. I could watch it all day. And I have.

17. Oars

Luffy gets the chance to knock out not one, but two giants in Thriller Bark, with the first being Oars and the second being a Gecko Moria that's gone all Shadow's Asgard on everybody. However, I'm gonna give this spot to Oars. Not only does this Gigant Bazooka come after a battle with the entire Straw Hat crew, but we also get an X-Ray of Oars' spine as it happens. It's pretty rad.

16. Kuro

I can't imagine that, even after evaluating every possible outcome or option, that "Man of a Thousand Plans" Captain Kuro would've thought that he'd be defeated by a goofy rubber head screaming in his face and then caving his skull in. It's not the most humiliating way to go out, but considering Kuro spent years trying to enact the perfect scheme and talking trash about being a pirate, it's on up there.

15. Foxy

I'm a Foxy stan, a Long Ring Long Land Big Fan, and a Davy Back apologist. I LOVE this arc, and I love Foxy. But that doesn't mean that I didn't rejoice when Luffy finally got the win here. However, I have to give most of the credit to Bin Shimada, who is the best at voicing truly obnoxious One Piece villains (He also voice Wapol.) Heck, he's one of the best at voicing villains in general, as his versatility has also led him to being behind the roar behind Dragon Ball's Broly.

14. Usopp

Oh, I picked a sad one. The battle between Luffy and Usopp is the most depressing in One Piece's history, with Usopp pouring everything he has into a fight where defeat is almost 100% inevitable, and Luffy being forced to beat up the crew member that he often relates to the most. As a fight, it's equal parts thrilling and depressing, and as the start of the perfect Water 7/Enies Lobby arcs, it's....also equal parts thrilling and depressing.

13. Buggy

This is the battle that would set the standard for inventive conclusions to One Piece fights and even though it's less dramatic than some of the finishing blows to come, it deserves a spot on this list due to how iconic it feels now. It's a final fight that teaches you that One Piece just might be somethng special when it comes to handing defeat to its villains.

12. Cracker

I like this fight because it establishes two things: 1) It makes Luffy a genuine threat to the stability and heirarchy of Whole Cake Island (even if he's not ready to take on Big Mom directly yet), and 2) It shows us that the Sanji Retrieval Team can get the job done. Also, I like pairing this fight with the last one with Buggy, because in both cases, it's Luffy getting a crucial assist from Nami and they make a great team.

11. Lucci

Luffy's fight against Rob Lucci is one of the most well-constructed fights in anime, a contest that flip flops between a battle of nearly equal strengths, a desperate underdog journey, and an immensely satisfying and almost terrifying conclusion. Luffy closing his eyes and screaming while pummeling Lucci through the wall is such a visceral, violent way to end this fight and shows that while clever inventiveness can be handy in a battle on the Grand Line, sometimes you just need sheer will.

10. Sea King

Not only is this a "Yeah! One Piece is the best!" punch, but it's also an integral part of the "We Are" opening. If I was a DJ, I'd play that song at every club I worked at. People would be like "DJ MERRY, PLAY THE LATEST POST MALONE!" and I'd be like "Right on it!" and then I'd just play "We Are" again.

9. Wapol

As I mentioned, Wapol is one of the most obnoxious anime villains out there. So if he didn't get something that would deserve a spot on this list, I would've rioted, or at least been very disappointed on Twitter. Luckily, Wapol, pleading with Luffy, gets rocketed into the Drum Island stratosphere. It's literally the nicest option for him.

8. Doflamingo

Doflamingo's defeat is a long time coming. Shown as a particularly malicious guy back during the Skypiea arc, then shown to be an agent of the underworld with a hand in weapons and trafficking, then revealed to be the false king of Dressrosa, he's needed a punch to the everywhere for almost 15 years of One Piece's run. And Luffy gives it to him, knocking him down through the streets of the city that he terrorized for so long.

7. Blueno

Power-ups are fairly expected in shows like One Piece. But that's not a diss on them at all. I LOVE when a protagonist gets notably stronger and can pull off cool new moves and maybe gets a new haircut. But Luffy going Second Gear and then absolutely making a mockery of Blueno is something to behold. Blueno's look of stunned disbelief makes it even better, and it's just a warm-up for the war against the rest of CP9 to come.

6. Crocodile

For most of the Alabasta arc, Luffy is 0-2 in battles against Crocodile. But, while Dvorak's New World Symphony: 4th Movement plays, Luffy uses the blood that he's shed to counter Crocodile's sand to knock him up through Alubarna. It's rare to hear someone call "rubber bro uses his magical fists to shatter the internal organs of an evil desert-themed gentleman" a truly majestic scene, but this is beautiful work. If there was a Church of Eiichiro Oda, this would be painted on the ceiling. Get lost, Michelangelo.

5. Arlong

The trend of "Luffy beats the main villain of the arc by knocking him through something large" that we've seen with foes like Crocodile, Enel, Lucci, and Doflamingo was established here with Arlong. Horrified at the way that he's treated Nami, Luffy uses a Gum Gum Battle-Axe to turn Arlong's vertebrate into chowder.

4. Enel

Luffy using the body of a psychopathic tyrant to ring the Shandorian Bell, thus proving to Mont Blanc Noland's descendent that the City of Gold did exist and freeing the citizens of Skypiea from Enel's reign is both poetic and just a cool looking set piece. It's a reminder of just how fulfilling reading/watching One Piece is, and how the details of the story often culminate in these big, lovely bouquets of fisticuffs and never lose any of their meaning or importance along the way.

3. Katakuri

No, this isn't a typical knockout, as Luffy falls down first and Katakuri dropping feels like more of a spiritual defeat than a physical one. But with the knockout of Katakuri comes the changing of an ideology, and the allowance of failure, something that Katakuri had never given himself before. So it not only signals the end of the fantastic main duel of the arc, but legitimate character growth for the antagonist. Also, it comes after the Fourth Gear Snake Man fight, which is one of the best animated episodes in the entire show.

2. Charlos

The most gif'd moment of One Piece ever, Luffy punching Charlos so hard that it seems to break the anime needs no explanation. It's perfect.

1. Bellamy

"Do I know how to throw a punch, you ask?" Luffy rearranging Bellamy's skull after Bellamy mocks his belief in dreams and myth is a perfect distillation of one of the themes of One Piece: Those who believe in something VS Those who simply want to tear down those beliefs. And though the fight to follow your dreams and live a free life on the sea would continue, Luffy scored a victory for it here. Dreams: 1, Bellamy's Ability To Go Without A Neck Brace: 0.

What is your favorite One Piece knockout? Do you agree with the placements on this list? Let us know in the comments!

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catchypress · 3 years

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All about the 2021 NFL Time

As we think about league and ahead to the 17 games awaiting each franchise this year, we see QB battles and second chances, recent league rules and records are to be broken, eras opening and chapters coming to a close. So multi questions are there ahead the 2021 NFL campaign. .

Almost 15 questions we're asking pre the 2021 NFL league.

1. Could Brady’s Buccaneers run it back?

Back in February, fresh off a dominant victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, a victorious Tom Brady stood atop the winner’s podium to claim his seventh Super Bowl and make clear his intentions for the future.

“Yeah,” he declared. “We’re coming back.”

By “we,” he clearly meant everyone. The Buccaneers are the first franchise in the NFL’s salary cap era (est. 1994) to bring back all 22 starters after winning the Super Bowl.

https://twitter.com/TomBrady

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2. Might Father Time actually be … defeated?

Brady has got seven Super Bowl rings, five Super Bowl MVP nods, and is football’s undisputed Greatest Of All Time. Fresh off his 44th birthday, he’s just 1,154 yards shy of Drew Brees’s all-time career passing yards record and it would surprise absolutely no one to see him back on the champion’s stage in February. Let’s all keep enjoying this remarkable ride.

3. How will the Chiefs’ overhauled offensive line hold up?

It’s a massive credit to Patrick Mahomes that the weakness of his injury-riddled, patched-together-with-tape offensive line went mostly unnoticed through much of 2020 — the QB does some of his best, most highlight-worthy work under pressure, after all. But on football’s biggest stage, Mahomes was running for his life while dealing with a significant toe injury against Tampa Bay, making Kansas City’s top off-season priority crystal clear: Fix that o-line.

That’s exactly what they did, releasing Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz, landing veterans

Another renovated offensive line we’re watching: The Bengals, who saw first-hand last season what happens when you don’t protect your QB, as franchise face Joe Burrow was carted off the field 10 games into what was a remarkable rookie campaign.

4. Can Josh Allen take the Bills to the promised land?

Speaking of high ceilings … at the top of most AFC East predictions is Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. After winning their first division title since 1995 last year and falling just one game shy of the Super Bowl, all the pieces are in place for a long-awaited championship win.

5. Will a team be forced to forfeit a game due to a COVID-19 outbreak?

It’s clear that being vaccinated gives clubs a real competitive advantage. So far, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons are the only two clubs to reach a vaccinated rate of 100 per cent, while many more teams are getting closer to that mark.

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6. How long must da Bears wait for Fields’s NFL debut?

Trevor Lawrence’s Week 1 fate was never in doubt in Jacksonville; Zach Wilson is the future of the Jets; and we’re all expecting some Shanahan shenanigans on offence with Trey Lance featured heavily in a one-two QB punch. The Patriots are so confident in Mac Jones that they cut Cam Newton.

And then there are the Bears:

https://twitter.com/DickersonESPN?s=20

7. Is Tony Romo right about Zach Wilson?

There will surely be lots of focus on 2021's top pick, Trevor Lawrence, but QB-turned-CBS-clairvoyant Tony Romo is focused on the second player taken in April -- and he sees a really strong future in store:

“It’s rare for me to say someone has the ability to get in the stratosphere of a Mahomes, but I think this kid actually has that ability,” Romo said of Wilson during a recent CBS Sports conference call. “When you have a quarterback like that, I think there’s no telling how good you can be. He can make up for a lot of weaknesses in a lot of areas for a football team.

“I think Zach Wilson is going to be in the discussion as one of the top three to five quarterbacks [in the NFL] very quickly. Within the next couple of years, I think you’re going to see him rise. I think he’s unbelievable. His ceiling is so high.”

8. Is the AFC ready for a new king in the North?

The Big Ben era is nearing its end in Pittsburgh, but can this strong Steelers defence and a refreshed run game propel the club further than Ben Roethlisberger’s arm will allow? The Ravens brought in offensive help for Lamar Jackson, but early injuries show the quick-footed QB might be on his own again.

9. Is this the year Myles Garrett gets DPOY?

Last year, Rams defensive end and all-around superhuman Aaron Donald won the award for the third time, tying fellow DE J.J. Watt and former Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor for most DPOY titles in league history. Can he make it four? Browns DE Myles Garrett will surely have something to say about that – he was having his best season in 2020 before being sidelined with COVID, and struggling with the virus’s lingering effects upon his return.

10. Can Dak Prescott stay healthy and lead Dallas back into the playoffs?

The NFC East is just begging for someone to grab hold of it – Washington won the division last year with a 7-9 record (yikes).

After suffering a gruesome ankle injury just five games into 2020, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is back and ready to show what $160 million looks like on the field.

https://twitter.com/CollinsworthPFF?s=20

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11. Danny Dimes or Danny Drops: Who is the real Daniel Jones?

The clock of contention starts ticking as soon as you draft your QB: You’ve basically got five years of his rookie deal to build a winner around him — but just three to really determine whether you’ve got your guy, or if you need to head back to the drawing board. That’s where the Giants and 2019 sixth-overall pick Daniel Jones are this season. Jones has shown promise, but indecision under pressure and too many fumbles through his first two seasons bring doubts about his future in New York. This year should hold the answers.

12. Did Miami miss its window to overtake New England?

The Miami Dolphins are just entering Year Two of Tua Tagovailoa, but face similar questions to those being asked in New York when it comes to whether or not they’ve got the right guy to lead the team into the future. Adding to the Dolphins’ urgency here is — who else? — their longtime foe Bill Belichick.

After two decades living in the shadow of the dynastic New England Patriots, the Dolphins finally saw sunnier skies in the summer of 2020 when Tom Brady took his talents to Tampa Bay. Only, it was the Bills who moved into the top spot. One year later, Belichick’s fresh off a free agency shopping spree and has his Brady-lite in rookie Mac Jones while Miami’s still wondering whether their rebuild can take off with Tua at the helm.

13. Will the Texans trade Deshaun Watson?

Should the Texans trade him is a different question altogether. Let’s be clear: When we talk about Watson, we’re not just talking about football, or his long and public spat with Texans management. Watson is currently under investigation, facing more than 20 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints of sexual misconduct and sexual assault, per reports. These serious allegations haven’t stopped teams from digging around to see about acquiring the QB, however, and until the NFL makes a ruling on his eligibility to play, he’ll likely stay buried on Houston’s depth chart to allow the legal process to play out as it should.

14. How long until we (and the players) get used to the league’s new jersey-number rules?

Last spring, the league introduced a rule change loosening restrictions on which numbers can be worn by which positions, straying from the long-standing structure. This could cause more than just a little confusion on the playing field, with offensive players forced to work much harder to identify opposing defences’ roles. Tom Brady is not a fan of this change, and explained why:

“The number rule is crazy,” Brady told Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times earlier this week. “Literally, guys changed their numbers today. I’m playing two guys who had different numbers in the pre-season. So, yeah, you’ve got to watch film and know who you’re studying, but so do running backs. They’ve got to know who to block. So does the offensive line. So do the receivers who are adjusting their routes based on blitzes.

15. Who’s the best in the NFC West?

There are endless combinations here, and none of them feel wrong. We’re gonna need all 17 games to figure out football’s strongest division.

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gossipgirl2019-blog · 6 years

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Now That's What I Call 1999: Have U2 and New Radicals ever been seen in the same room?

New Post has been published on http://gr8gossip.xyz/now-thats-what-i-call-1999-have-u2-and-new-radicals-ever-been-seen-in-the-same-room/

Now That's What I Call 1999: Have U2 and New Radicals ever been seen in the same room?

In 1999, Elle Hunt’s dad convinced her that New Radical’s ‘You Get What You Give’ was actually by U2. Today, she revisits the life-changing moment she realised he was wrong.

The loss of innocence is a hallmark of growing up. In my personal bildungsroman, mine was precipitated by my dad telling me that ‘You Get What You Give’ was by U2. Being eight or nine I had believed him. When I saw the video, showing the band wreaking havoc on squares at a mall, I thought: has Bono always worn a bucket hat?

But I suppressed my doubts because, on pop music, Dad was always right. Given he sometimes forgot his daughters’ names, he had an impressive recall of songwriter credits, chart placings, lyrics and trivia of pop songs put out between 1961 and 1980.

His dislike of U2 was often stated and spanned decades. But in the case of ‘You Get What You Give’, it seemed to only add to his authority. He would be the last to give them any kudos, let alone circle the block to let their song play out when it came on the car radio: the mark of only the best pop.

Besides, no one had heard of New Radicals. Stylised Иew Radicals, it sounded forgettable, even made up – like the fake name you’d give a real band for a cameo on Gossip Girl, or the failing side project of a side character in a slacker comedy. But everyone knew about U2, and Bono, and Bono’s bucket hat.

Music, we know, is linked to memory, and sometimes imperfectly. ‘You Get What You Give’ continues to strike me as a song by U2 and then not by U2, transporting me 20 years back in time to the back seat of Dad’s Ford Mondeo on the way home from school, extending the journey by four minutes just to let the outro fade out: Can’t. For. Get.

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But there are many more songs that are just as intrinsic to that moment in time that I don’t remember. The Now That’s What I Call Music compilations unlock them all, even the ones that I never knew the names of, have never deliberately put on, yet discover, decades on, that I know by heart.

Like ‘Tender’ by Blur, a song I only ever knew as “Comeoncomeoncomeon. Get through it”. And ‘Buses and Trains’ by Bachelor Girl, a song both instantly forgettable and apparently carved onto my consciousness like a long-lost cave painting, awaiting rediscovery. As for ‘U Don’t Know Me’ by Armand Van Helden, I would have sworn that I’d never heard it before, right up to the 1:08 minute mark, when an earworm that has lain dormant in my memory since 1998 lurches into life. (I do not know where Armand Van Helden is now but the title of his album, 2Future4U, has not aged well).

Along with ‘You Get What You Give’, all three are brought together on Now That’s What I Call Music 4, released in 1999 and washed with the optimism and trepidation of the cusp of the new millennium. Consider Now 4’s opening one-two punch of ‘Fly Away’ by Lenny Kravitz and ‘Strong’ by Robbie Williams: both songs that straightforwardly yearn for escape from this stratosphere. Let’s go and see the stars, the Milky Way or even Mars, proposes Kravitz, plaintive and unmuffled a full decade before he was best known for his big scarf. Robbie Williams says he’s still young, we’re still young – step inside the su(uuuuuu, uuuuuuu)n.

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Well, no one in the Now 4 demographic is young anymore, least of all Robbie, no matter how he might kid himself on that Reputation tour stage. Listening to Now 4 today, when pop music has never been slower or more dark, it is striking how upbeat it is, even at its most nihilistic. You think that I’m strong, you’re wrong, sings Williams to a cheery guitar strum in E-flat major, to 172 beats per minute. With the average number one today slogging away at under 100bpm, ‘Strong’ is practically speed metal.

‘Fly Away’, too, is in a major key and uptempo. The Mavericks want to ‘Dance The Night Away’ with a horn section, even as they get over a broken heart. Semisonic have a remarkable clarity of purpose for being kicked out at ‘Closing Time’. Jennifer Paige has a ‘Crush’. Even when Now 4 is down, it’s up – Vengaboys may say they’re both, but let’s not kid ourselves. The most sombre it gets is ‘Goodbye’ by The Spice Girls.

You get the sense that, at the time of Now 4, pop music offered escape from quite a nice existence, like going on holiday and, in the case of T-Spoon, having public intercourse. Pop music today sounds like it is soundtracking The Hunger Games or, at its cheeriest, giving momentary respite from them. The Now compilations, as essential and era-defining to my generation as Top of the Pops was to my dad’s, act like time machines, letting us pick any moment and go there instead.

I can put on ‘You Get What You Give’ today (“Interesting,” says my flatmate mildly, returning home mid-chorus) and relive a happier time when my biggest concern was not whether it will be my children or my children’s children who will have their access to resources restricted, but whether it was by U2. Eventually I could no longer deny Иew Radicals’ existence and by that time I was 12, old enough to challenge my father’s wisdom.

Not only was he unmoved, he denied ever claiming it was by U2. But he had.

He definitely had.

This content is brought to you by Now That’s What I Call Music New Zealand and Universal Music. Listen to and talk about all the Now That’s What I Call Music New Zealand compilations on Spotify and Facebook.

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